Monday, September 5, 2011

Tory Burch’s Reva ballet flats are one of the most favorite shoes in the world. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the most replicated shoes in the world.

I got my flats for around $170.00 from a sale in Fashion Valley. While I was browsing Ebay one time, I saw tons of authentic Tory Burch Revas on ‘Buy it Now’ bids, and are priced at around $50-$80 only! They look so real! They have boxes, tags, and even paper bags. But with such an affordable price tag, I can’t help but think that there is something fishy with those shoes. Indeed I was right. They’re FAKE.

I was lured into buying fake stuff before. I was so mad because I paid a hefty premium for a frikkin’ fake pair of True Religion jeans. After that, I veered away from online shopping and excluded branded stuff from my wish lists because I was so scared of getting another fake item. But all it takes is a lot of education on how to spot knock- offs.

Screen shot taken from toryburchoutletshops.com

Tory Burch’s Reva flats are comfy, stylish, and sturdy. They won’t go out of style. Sadly, they are not affordable. In Ebay, you’ll see tons of Revas that look EXACTLY like the real thing. But they’re just that—they only LOOK LIKE the real thing.

Tempted with a 2k, 3k, or 4k pair of Revas? Before bidding on those shoes or hitting the ‘Buy it Now’ button, read and digest my comprehensive review on how to spot a Reva knock- off.

Tory Burch has started outsourcing labor. They were made in the USA before, but now, the clothes and bags are Made in China, and the shoes are Made in Brazil. The shoes ARE NOT MADE IN CHINA.

However, a lot of CHINA- MADE Revas are claiming to be MADE IN BRAZIL. BEWARE!

Screen shot taken from toryburch.com

KNOW HOW MUCH THEY’RE TRULY WORTH

Okay, you should know how much a pair of Tory Burch Reva costs. For the Classic Reva, it’s around $195.00 online. Locally, it’s around P10,900+ (Approximately $240+). In the official site of Tory Burch, the Revas went on a sale for $110.00. For licensed Tory Burch outlets, you can get the shoes for as low as $150.00, but you have to buy them in bulk. If one can purchase single pairs from outlets, there wouldn’t be a single Tory Burch boutique around the world. Revas vary in styles and prices. You can go to Tory Burch’s official website so you can check out their collection and pricing. For this entry, I shall review my only (sniff) Tory Burch Classic Reva in Black.

A lot of sellers will claim that their prices are cheap because their Revas are from outlets, and are overruns. Overruns are fakes posing as authentic factory rejects, hence the affordable prices. There are only two types of items: AUTHENTIC and FAKE. And outlets have ceilings on their prices, regardless if you purchase a thousand pairs. Suppose that the bulk pricing for a single pair of Reva costs $150.00, the seller would be crazy enough (and too kind) to sell the shoes for only $80-100!

The Box

This one’s hard to spot. An authentic Tory Burch pair of shoes has an orange and blue printed box. The logo of Tory Burch is at the center, and measurement is

4L X 4H. If the measurement of the logo on your box is not precise, not printed on the center, and has messy ink splatters and bleeding, it’s fake!

The Wrappers

Tory Burch Revas are wrapped in very soft paper, which is actually referred to as ‘Tissue’. But for me, it ain’t tissue. My Tory Burch, which came from the U.S., came with a ton of tissue wraps on the sides, and some more stuffed inside the shoes to preserve their shape. However, the Tory Burch I got from Greenbelt had a decent amount of tissue inside the box: Some on the bottom to cushion it, and some inside the shoes to preserve their shape.

Authentic Revas do not come with plastic rods inserted inside the shoe!

Authentic Revas come with white 'tissues' with the brand’s logo printed all over it. If your purchase does not have this, it’s fake!

However, fake Revas also come with the branded tissue wraps, so be careful. Do not solely rely on this. Ask the seller for more pictures. To know what pictures to ask from the seller, keep on reading.

The Buckle

The buckles of the Classic Reva come in Gold and Silver. NOT BRONZE. Also, brand new authentic Revas DO NOT HAVE PLASTIC OR TISSUE WRAPS ON THE BUCKLES. If your shoes have this, it’s fake!

This is a pic showing the back part of the buckle. Notice the very thin layer of leather right underneath the buckle? It’s a separate piece of leather that holds the buckle to the shoe. The buckle sits right on top of the leather cut- out with metal reinforcements right behind the buckle. If the buckles of your shoes are reinforced, or much worse, glued straight to the shoe, it’s fake

The Stitching

Classic Revas have running V stitching all over the shoe. If the stitches on your shoes are straight or vertical, it’s fake!

The thread used on Revas is thick, and it looks sturdy. If the quality of your shoes’ thread is thin (same as the threads used on clothes), it’s fake!

The Body

Authentic Revas are cut straight from a piece of leather and formed into a shoe. They are not made from sectioned pieces of leather! There’s only one section, and that’s located at the middle of the heel part of the Reva, where the ends of the leather are joined together. If your shoes have sections on the parts where the curve of your foot is resting, it’s fake!

The Size Indicator

My shoes are pretty old, and I wasn’t able to take a pic of the size tag. But I found one on my mother’s Tory Burch loafers. Authentic Revas have transparent, round stickers taped on each of the shoes’ sole. The number and letter are in Gold, and sizes are indicated in this manner: 5M, 9M, etc. The size is not encircled. If your shoes have square, transparent stickers with encircled sizes, it’s fake!

Check out the leather. It’s not too shiny, and not too matte. It has a faint sheen. Also, if you look closely, the leather has very tiny dots on it. The leather develops lines and folds through wear and tear. They are kinda’ stiff when they’re new, but they soften in time, especially if you will endure the pains inflicted by new shoes by using them regularly. If the leather of your shoes does not have these unique markings, is very stiff (you will know once you wear them. They’re not flexible and they feel too hard), and is shiny, it’s fake!

The Marking

The size, code, and materials used to make an authentic Classic Reva are stamped inside the shoe. It says LEATHER UPPER, LEATHER LINING, MAN MADE SOLE, MADE IN BRAZIL, and the code. (?) and size right beside each other.

These markings are found at the toe part of the Revas. If your shoes have these, but were printed near the heel part of the shoe, it’s fake!

However, newer styles have shuffled the orders of MADE IN BRAZIL, the code, and size. Regardless, authentic Reva shoes have everything stamped right at the toe part of the shoes.

The Label

The code, color, description (style), and Suggested Retail are contained in a sticker on the exterior of the box. It should also show a pic of the shoe printed on the left or right part of the sticker, and the barcode right below the shoe’s picture. Recent boxes show that the caricature of the Reva is located at the left part of the sticker, and the bar code is located to the right. My pair was bought two years ago, so the contents of the label may have been shuffled (possibly to avoid counterfeiting). Regardless, all boxes should contain these descriptions. The small sticker on top of the box’s label depends on where you bought it. For my pair, these were bought from an authorized retailer in Fashion Valley, San Diego, CA., and the small sticker is by the retailer. Your authentic pair may bear a retailer’s sticker, or it might not have any at all.

If the labels on your shoeboxes don’t have the specs label, it’s fake!

Fake Revas have label stickers taped on the exterior of the box. You can easily spot if they’re fake because the labels may bear one of the following, or all of them: REAL LEATHER, WRONG SIZE (Says it’s a 9M but it’s really a 10M), and WRONG STYLE (Says Caroline but it’s really a Jelly Reva).

I hope this entry helped you out. Remember, a brand new pair of Reva that costs 4k might be too tempting, but 4k is not loose change either.

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Lovely Thoughts:

Nini
said...

It's a good thing that you give us ways on how we can determine whether the Tory Burch that we are about to purchase is orig or not. I wanted to buy sa ebay na talaga ng Tory Burch Reva because I thought that it would be a good investment, and mas cheaper talaga dun. Pero naisip ko din na kung makakatipid nga ako ng malaki pero may possibility na fake, eh wag na lang. Anyway, I really appreciate that you posted all these info.

hi, need your help determining if these are authentic tory burch flats: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1967752195950&set=a.1926971656462.2096552.1307284857&type=3&theater seller says these are overruns that's why they're cheaper, but it also says made in brazil. so i'm just kind of confused. Thanks!

This is a very cool post! Love how detailed it is. I myself am not into ballet flats as they hurt my feet and make the arch of my feet collapse... but for those in search of these famous flats, your blogpost is a wonderful guide! Great job!

Hi!! Could you tell me if you think these are fake?? I'd love this pair but now I'm starting to doubt if they're real! Looking at the pictures, everything seems to match up and be okay. But I'm not sure. Help would be very appreciated!!!http://www.ebay.com/itm/NIB-COOL-ToryBurch-Reva-Ballet-Flats-leopard-printed-Leather-shoes-free-ship-/160843647145?pt=US_Women_s_Shoes&var=&hash=item25730748a9#ht_3335wt_1141

Hi! I saw a pair of Tory Burch Reese ballet flats on eBay. Pro bird is the seller and is selling them for 3,100 pesos. She claims that not all shoes are made in Brazil. Some are China made. How can you tell if this is a knockoff aside from being cheap?

Hi thanks for the great info I was about to buy online bcoz its really much cheaper but my husband told me better to buy in GB than not sure if it's authentic coz my husband really hate fake/replica products & now this post really help me.. Thanks & GOD bless;-)

Im eyeing on tory burch jelly reva and found quite a few in ebay. I already hav 2 reva pairs so i guess spotting a replica wont be too hard for me. But my prob is ive nver seen an authentic jelly reva b4..can someone please help me with that? As per seller, jellies are made in china and revas are made in brazil. Im a bit doubtful. But her feedbacks are filled with positive ones. Please help!

Hi the jelly revas i bought from the states are also made in china. Although im doubtful about the ones being sold online ive never seen them on the tory burch website. Th ones i have are all plastic and they also sold ones with a metal buckle but never like the ones that have been circulating the web... Btw i came across this seller and just wanted to share that the revas and eddies they are selling are fake, they even claims its made in brazil. Please spread.https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=223767134350426&set=a.144386058955201.27675.100001514238131&type=3&permPage=1

If it's too cheap, it's probably fake. I haven't been seeing Tory Burch shoes on ebay lately but there are a lot of wallets. I guess the same thing goes. If they're priced too low, they're probably knock offs.

I know i shouldn't be here but... my wife is looking into buying a pair of so-called authentic revas priced at 5800 phil pesos. Her foot's quite small 5.5. So is there a 5 1/2 label??? Or should it be just whole numbers with the "M"???

Trying to convince her to just buy heaps of sneakers! Lol now i know why my wallet resembles an onion. Sigh! Women and their shoes =p

One other thing... the so called 'wrapper' should be "The paper used to wrap the shoes is plain white. No colors and no Tory Burch logo should be present." According to the salesperson at Tory Burch. :'(

Wow you put a lot of effort into detailing ways to spot a fake Tory Burch from an authentic one. I'm amazed by your patience and your concern for potential customers. Thanks for this post. It helps avoid throwing hard-earned money down the drain. I haven't encountered any other beauty blogger who gives as many useful details. :-)

I have completed some research and would like to update this info. I contacted Tory Burch customer service and they stated that there are several countries that their shoes are made in. Brazil, China and Dominican Republic. 1-866-480-8679, if you would like to verify. I have found that even Uggs are manufactured in different countries, after talking to their customer service department. Companies are always changing manufacturers. But most clerks at stores may not be aware of it and usually are not knowledgeable of the manufacturing.Also, it is possible to find AUTHENTIC Tory Burch for lower, resonable prices on eBay. Because I have. Your info was helpful, but like most everything in life. Things change and need to be updated.

The information does need to be updated. On the actual Tory Burch site and the amazon store they use, they fail to provide "Made in" in the description for all the shoes. Hmmm wonder why? After obsessively researching it was very clear that most top brands are now made in China. I purchased mine from Nordstrom and they are made in China. Prada and Armani finally came out of the closet as well in 2011.Michael Kors and Coach have always been open about it. High demand from consumers always pushes designer luxury brands to China eventually, they are the only country populated enough to produce to satisfy high demand. China is currently striving to come back on quality as it was half a century ago. In fact top dollar items that may even say made in Italy, France, UK Etc.. that are sold by the designer's themselves are made in China. The legal loop hole for this is that they are simply finished with the last ingredient. The "made in" stamp only.

this is why I'm scared of buying thins from ebay :(( my feet is an attention whore, I think it's acting out because I didn't give it as much love as I did with my face, so she's really choosy with shoes. I prefer trying things myself. If it's comfortable, then I buy it. I have no way of knowing that on ebay.

I think the ones I got (they were used) are real and they match everything you have but for some reason I can't find the marking inside the shoe! I am really confused... Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Thanks for putting this information altogether. By god's grace, I have enough budgets to buy my favorite pair of Tory Burch shoes because of my newly joined job. Yeah, its true that Tory Burch is an expensive brand, but it is stylish and comfortable in true sense.

Hi I just want to let you know that Tory Burch is 100% positively having many of their boots made in China, and have for some time. Just bought a pair of Marlenes at one of their retail stores and it was stamped right on the bottom. That sure makes it a lot harder to see the fakes!